In a report released Thursday, the Canadian Institute for Health Information examined the impact of the pandemic on the supply, distribution and movement of some health workers in the country. Findings between 2020 and 2021 included:
Overtime hours reached the highest level seen in more than a decade, according to Statistics Canada.
More than 1,800 nurses moved into self-employment or agency jobs.
A slowdown in the increase in the supply of primary care doctors, combined with a temporary reduction in their services during the first lockdown.
Dr. Lawrence Loh, CEO of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, said the profession is trying to adapt to the demanding number of patients who don’t have a primary care provider or direct access to their family doctor. The consequence for Canadians and the health care system is that more people are waiting longer in emergency departments, Loch said. For some of these patients, the waits mean their illnesses have worsened or are not treated as well as they could have been if they had better access to family doctors and nurses. Family doctors are doing the best they can, Loh says, but the pandemic has accelerated retirements in a profession that has been under-resourced for decades. “The days of the solo family doctor going it alone with the receptionist, that’s getting harder and harder,” Loch said in an interview. He was the medical officer at hit Peel Region hardwest of Toronto, during the first deadly waves of the pandemic. WATCHES | Challenges of family medicine for patients and the profession:
Why is it so hard to find a family doctor in Canada?
As one in five Canadians struggle to find a family doctor, CBC News set out to find out what’s driving so many out of work and visits a community that may have found a solution. The pandemic exposed stresses that had been building for more than a decade, the authors of the CIHI report said. The report’s authors noted that average annual growth in the supply of primary care physicians slowed from 3.4 percent between 2012 and 2014 to 1.3 percent between 2019 and 2021. “Efforts are needed to monitor and manage the health workforce … necessary to address the unprecedented demands we’ve seen,” said Lynn McNeely, health workforce information manager at CIHI. At the same time, the supply rates of nurses (NPs) grew by nearly 10 percent during the study period, making it one of the fastest growing groups of health professionals.
Nurses could reduce stress: report
In some provinces, nurses diagnose and treat many illnesses and injuries, make referrals to specialists, and prescribe most medications. The development of NPs could reduce pressure on health care systems and improving access to primary care, particularly in rural and remote areas, the report’s authors suggested. Loch said advances in medical knowledge mean more people are living longer with chronic illnesses that need to be treated. In addition, the demands on a GP’s time have also increased, with more administrative work such as insurance forms to fill out. When CBC News recently visited Dr. Laura Sang, a new family doctor in Saint Hippolyte, Que., about 80 km north of Montreal, fired up her computer around 6:30 a.m., reviewing 12 documents, two results and four incoming messages. overnight. Filling out forms, pulling patient charts to respond to requests from insurance companies that deny a claim, and running the small business that is a family practice with all its IT and staffing requirements also compete for Sang’s time, for which is not paid. Keeping track of paperwork takes time away from seeing patients, family doctors say. (Mark Quinn/CBC)
Doctors say they are pulled into multiple roles
Since Sang is only paid for the time she spends with patients, she tracks how long their visits are, what she’s done for them, and what health conditions they have, from sleep deprivation and mental health challenges to infections and cancer. All affect billing. “I find myself sometimes being more of a psychologist because patients can’t afford it,” Sang said. “Sometimes, the pharmacist is trying to do a review of all their medications. I’m kind of the secretary to figure out, OK, which appointments I asked for have been made, which specialists have they seen, what’s still missing?” Loh, Sang and others say solutions to the primary care crisis include:
Improving the practice environment to retain current physicians and recruit new graduates to a field they feel safe and comfortable enough to continue with.
Turning to multidisciplinary teams where family doctors work with dietitians, nurses, occupational therapists, social workers and physician assistants to allow doctors to spend more time with patients and take a break.
The report’s authors also provided information for nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physical therapists.
